PANAJI
Goa paid homage to former defence minister who served as a vibrant chief minister and senior BJP leader Manohar Parrikar on his birth anniversary on Sunday, at various functions held in the state.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in a function held at Panaji termed Parrikar as an inspiration and a guiding force for him.
"We are following the path shown by him . On his birth anniversary, we pay homage to his soul," Sawant said.
Sawant said the Goans will never forget the contribution of Parrikar to Goa. Not only for infrastructure development but the overall vision for the growth of Goa.
"He had the vision to keep the whole of Goa clean. He set up garbage management in the Saligao constituency. I remember his vision for the state, he wanted to set up plants in Goa. Our Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will take ahead his vision. He has already set up a plant in South Goa," said Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo.
Parrikar has served as the country's defence minister during the first term of the Narendra Modi government.
Born on December 13, 1955, Parrikar died while serving as chief minister of Goa on March 17, 2019, after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.
The BJP's Panaji Mandal and former MLA Damu Naik organized a blood donation camp to mark the occasion. Sawant along with Goa BJP president Sadanand Tanavade attended the camp where some party MLAs donated blood.
"Parrikar helped BJP reach the top. He reached to the level of defence minister and made Goa proud," said Damu Naik.
BJP's state general secretary and former MP Narendra Sawaikar also paid tributes to Parrikar.
In another function in State capital at Institute Menezes Braganza Alina Saldanha said that if Parrikar was alive and was chief minister of Goa then he would have listened to the people who are opposing the projects.
The son of Parrikar said that his father is an inspirational story who reached the position of defence minister of India.
